The long, hot summer of 1967 refers to an outbreak of widespread racial unrest across major American cities during the summer of 1967, where over 150 riots erupted, primarily fueled by deep-seated frustrations regarding police brutality, poverty, and racial inequality within black communities. The term emphasizes the intensity and widespread nature of the urban violence that summer.
The most destructive riots of the summer took place in July, in Detroit and Newark; many contemporary newspaper headlines described them as "battles". President Lyndon B. Johnson established the Kerner Commission to investigate the causes of the riots and address underlying societal issues.
Riots
Background
The United States experienced a series of "long hot summers" of racial unrest during the mid-to-late 1960s. They started with the Harlem riots in July 1964, and the Watts riots in August 1965. During the first nine months of 1967, over 150 riots erupted across American cities. The most destructive riots were in Detroit, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey. By September, 83 people were killed, thousands were injured, tens of millions of dollars' worth of property had been destroyed and entire neighborhoods had been burned.
Systemic racism, police brutality, high unemployment rates, poor living conditions in urban black neighborhoods, and a sense of hopelessness contributed to the widespread unrest. While significant civil rights legislation had been passed, many African Americans felt that the pace of change was too slow and the progress was not reflected in their daily lives.
Newark and Detroit
The Newark riots were sparked by the arrest and beating of John William Smith, a black cab driver, by police officers. The unrest lasted for five days, involving widespread looting, arson, and violent confrontations with police and National Guard troops. Some 26 people were killed, more than 700 were injured, and more than 1,000 residents were arrested. $10 million (equivalent to $96.56 million in 2025) in property was damaged, and destroyed multiple plots, several of which are still covered in decay as of 2017. The Boston Globe described the Newark riots as "a revolution of black Americans against white Americans, a violent petition for the redress of long-standing grievances." The Globe asserted that Great Society legislation had affected little fundamental improvement.
In Detroit, a large black middle class had begun to develop among those African Americans who worked at unionized jobs in the automotive industry. These workers complained of persisting racist practices, limiting the jobs they could have and opportunities for promotion. The United Auto Workers channeled these complaints into bureaucratic and ineffective grievance procedures. Violent white mobs enforced the segregation of housing up through the 1960s. The Detroit riots were sparked by a police raid on an unlicensed after-hours bar, commonly called a "Blind Pig", in a predominantly Black neighborhood. The riots lasted for five days, causing significant property damage, 1,200 injuries, and at least 43 deaths (33 of those killed were Black residents of the city). Governor George Romney sent in 7,400 National Guard troops to quell fire bombings, looting, and attacks on businesses and police. President Lyndon Johnson deployed U.S. Army troops with tanks and machine guns. Residents reported that police officers and National Guardsmen shot at black civilians and suspects indiscriminately.
At an August 2, 1967, cabinet meeting, Attorney General Ramsey Clark warned that untrained and undisciplined local police forces and National Guardsmen might trigger a "guerrilla war in the streets", as evidenced by the climate of sniper fire in Newark and Detroit. Snipers were a significant element in many of the riots, creating a dangerous situation for both law enforcement and civilians, with shooters often targeting from rooftops and other concealed locations.
Reactions
It is in the context of having been through the "long, hot, summer" that, in December, Miami police chief Walter E. Headley uttered the now-infamous phrase, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts", after which Frank Rizzo, Richard Daley and George Wallace also spoke out in favor of a hardline approach towards looters and rioters.
In early July, the Justice Department met with local media to ask for "restraint in reporting". In December, The New York Times asked a psychologist about "deterrents" and was told that the riots would continue.
The FBI blamed the misery of ghetto life, oppressive summer weather, and Communist agitation. President Lyndon B. Johnson was convinced that inner-city poverty and despair were the principal ingredients behind the summer upheavals. Johnson publicly denounced the violence and looting occurring during the riots, calling on citizens to reject lawlessness and work towards peaceful solutions.
Political response
Throughout the summer that year, both the Republican and Democratic parties were split on how to handle the riots. In both parties two factions existed: one that advocated for law and order, and another that supported an approach based on social justice. Democrats held the majority of seats in both Houses of Congress while the Republicans held the minority. Despite common historiographical perceptions that depict the Republicans as being entirely in favor of a "law and order" styled approach to the riots, there was division in the party. President Johnson's popularity levels decreased that summer because of the riots.
During July, conservatives in the Republican Party dominated its response to the riots. Republicans believed this would be an opportunity to attack President Johnson and his War on Poverty initiative. Many Republicans would end up blaming Johnson for what happened that summer and many supported cutting back on programs that benefited urban areas. In the Senate, Republicans took a largely different approach that month than those who were in the House with most Republican Senators supporting Johnson's anti urban poverty programs.
In the 1968 presidential primaries, the Republican candidates split into two factions. Ronald Reagan aligned himself with the law and order faction; Nelson Rockefeller sided with the social justice faction; and Richard Nixon catered to both factions. Nixon emerged victorious. Nixon called for policies to control crime, scale back the war on poverty and encourage black capitalism as a way to "restore urban areas".
Kerner Commission
The riots confounded many civil rights activists of both races due to the recent passage of major civil rights legislation. They also caused a backlash among Northern whites, many of whom stopped supporting civil rights causes. President Johnson formed an advisory commission, informally known as the Kerner Commission, on July 28, 1967, to explore the causes behind the recurring outbreaks of urban civil disorder. The commission's scope included the 164 disorders occurring in the first nine months of 1967. The president had directed them, in simple words, to document what happened, find out why it happened, and find out how to prevent it.
The commission's 1968 report identified police practices, unemployment and underemployment, and lack of adequate housing as the most significant grievances motivating the rage. It suggested legislative measures to promote racial integration and alleviate poverty and concluded that the nation was "moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal." The president, fixated on the Vietnam War and keenly aware of budgetary constraints, barely acknowledged the report.
On August 10, the Kerner Commission would recommend in a letter to President Johnson that they should substantially and immediately increase the amount of African Americans serving in the National Guard and Air National Guard. The reason being they thought with more African Americans serving in the National Guard it could be a more effective force at preventing civil disorder.
Polling
In a March 1968 Harris poll reported in The Washington Post, 37% of Americans agreed with the Kerner Commission's report that the 1967 race riots were brought on mainly by inequalities; 49% disagreed. A majority of whites (53%) rejected the idea, with just 35% agreeing. In contrast, 58% of blacks supported it, and only 17% disagreed.
List of riots
Some of the riots include: